Now and Then
by razberrie21
Summary: This is the story of two girls as they travel across time to save space and time. Based on a cartoon my friend and I made in 5th grade. Previously called the Adventures of Aries and Aquarius. Rated T for future violence.
1. Aries and Aquarius

Aries POV:

Ahh. What a peaceful way to wake up. Today is Thanksgiving. I'm on break from school. I love not having to wake up to the obnoxious ringing of my alarm clock. But there was a downside to Thanksgiving; it meant that I would have to spend all day with my relatives who enjoyed pinching my cheeks and saying how much I've grown since last Thanksgiving.

It doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I'm thirteen now. Last year I was twelve. Not seeing me for one year entitles me to some pinch-free growing. Sheesh.

I decided that I better get this over with sooner rather than later. I got up to get dressed. I chose my normal blue t-shirt and jeans with a dark purple sweatshirt. Then I trekked downstairs to start greeting our early guests.

"Hey mom, dad." I said to them

"Aries!" my mom yelled, "Why isn't your hair brushed? And you are in _jeans!_ Ugh! I told you to wear the dress that I picked out for you! Your grandparents, cousins, and your uncle and aunt will be here any minute!! Shoo! Upstairs you go! And don't come downstairs until you are fully ready!"

My mom pushed me upstairs. I groaned. I _hate_ dresses. I would live in jeans if I could. Nevertheless, I got into the purple dress that my mother picked out for me. I brushed my shoulder-length brown hair, and then pulled it back into a ponytail. I took a messenger bag and stuffed the clothes I previously had on into it. I looked at myself one last time in the mirror, gave a heavy sigh, and made my way downstairs for the second time this morning.

Aquarius POV:

I hate saint day celebrations. And of course, today just _had_ to be my saint day. On Saint Acharius' saint day, my father throws a feast for me. To put it nicely, he isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. He was born with a mental disability, so he really can't rule our kingdom. My mother is a coward who acts as a nursemaid to my father, while she is supposed to be ruling the country. That leaves me. I can finally rule now that I have turned thirteen. That also means that my parents will be marrying me off soon.

Crap.

I have absolutely NO interest in any of the neighboring princes. I would prefer to marry for love, not power. And I'm still a kid! I'm just too young to get married! I want to date like a normal teenager! Okay, enough rambling. Back to the point...

So I was wandering the halls, burning time until the feast that night. I remembered the trouble the maids had braiding my hair. I have one, long braid that reaches just below my waist. It takes FOREVER to braid it. I'm the only one who knows how to braid it correctly, and even then I have a little help. I have magical powers.

Yes, I know. It sounds impossible. There was a prophecy stating that after a king had gone mad, that his princess would gain special abilities. There have been a ton of prophecies. Like that a knight on a golden steed will defeat a great beast in the forest, he died, or that the savior of the world would be two girls, and one would wear pants! Nevertheless, I can control water. I use the nimble fingers of the mist to help me braid my hair in thirty seconds, flat. It's a record, I think.

A sudden movement broke me out of my thoughts. I have never seen this person before. She looked to be my age. But how did she get here. I was alone a few seconds ago...

HUH??

Aries POV:

I ran up the stairs, two at a time, to get to my room. I quickly closed the door behind me and leaned against it. Phew. I walked to my calendar and put a giant red X on November 27, 2008. Yes! Thanksgiving is over!! I was free from torture for another year! I threw my marker up in the air in celebration. It hit the ceiling with a thud, leaving a green mark up there. Oops.

I walked over to where I had dropped my duffel bag and slung it on my arm. I sat down on my bed to try and relax. But I felt something hard under me as I sat, and heard the crunching of paper. I got up to see what I had sat on. I saw what looked to be a bronze candlestick, and a note. I picked up the crumpled piece of paper and smoothed it out. I read the message delivered to me.

_Aries,_

_You have been chosen to lead a very important mission. Your name is the first star sign of the year; therefore you are the one I must choose to lead this exclusive group. Let me introduce myself, first of all. I am Scorpio. I am the seeker. I have been sent throughout time to find the correct person to help us save the space-time continuum. _

_Your mission is to find the ten others. You need to find Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and your partner, Aquarius. You will be sent through time to find the warriors I have just listed. Just so you know, Aquarius and Virgo will be in the same time period. They will be the first ones that you will seek. _

_If you are to accept this mission, and I surely hope you do, you just have to hold your alarm clock, and close your eyes. Pack the bare necessities that you well need on your quest. Don't forget to pack your fire sword. And don't worry about your family. As soon as the chosen ones leave their time period, time stops until they return._

_The fire sword is the detailed cylinder that I have provided for you. It is your sole weapon. You will master it as time goes on, or goes back. As soon as you have packed, proceed to the clock. Oh, and keep your dress on. The era where you will be going does not accept women as equals to men._

_Good Luck! And happy traveling!_

_Scorpio_

I couldn't believe my eyes. Me! I was the savior of space and time? Yeah, right. My science teacher said that all I am going to add up to is someone's order at McDonald's. Well, I'm going to prove her wrong!! I grabbed by duffel off the floor where I had dropped it in astonishment, threw the fire sword in, and approached my alarm clock. I picked it up in both hands, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I heard a faint sound, like a breeze passing by, and opened my eyes. I was in a grand corridor, like the ones in medieval castles. I looked around, Yup; I'm in a medieval castle. I walked out from behind the pillar I was standing behind. I heard footsteps, and then they stopped abruptly. I turned around to see a girl, my age, staring back at me. She had one long braid going down her back. She wore a floor-length blue gown, and a silver tiara.

She quickly got into a fighting stance, with icicles suddenly floating around her.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"I'm.... Aries," I replied, fumbling around for my fire sword, "Who are you?" I replied

"I am Princess Aquarius. And you are trespassing." Aquarius retorted, with a sting in her voice.

"Listen," I said seriously, "I have a very good reason for being here," I looked for the note. Then I found it under my jeans, "Here, this letter should explain it all," I handed Aquarius the crumpled letter. She took it, after a moment of hesitation. I saw her eyes widen a few times, then she gave the letter back to me.

"Well," she said much friendlier now, "If Scorpio has sent you then you can't be a threat...to me, at least," she said with a smirk, "But you have to prove that you really are Aries. Only you can make the fire sword work, so show me," Uh, okay? I had never used the fire sword before. I figured I'd try. I fumbled around some more for the fire sword. I never did find it before. Aha! I found it!

I grabbed the fire sword in both my hands. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. I heard a _fwoosh_ and opened my eyes. There, emerging from the bronze handle piece was a long ribbon of fire. Aquarius looked astonished, I was too. But I couldn't let her see that.

"See? I told you," I said, Aquarius nodded

"Okay, you weren't lying. Isn't there someone else you are supposed to get?" she replied, lifting one eyebrow

"Oh, yeah," I said, embarrassed. Geez, this Aquarius girl is quite the sarcastic one, "Could you show me where Virgo is?"

"Of course!" Aquarius replied, "But you have to be the one to tell him about the mission. He's very stubborn,"

"Eh," I said, "He can't be more stubborn than my cat. She once slept for three days straight!" Aquarius laughed

"Ha! Your funny. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. Other than saving the whole space-time continuum. How do we do that anyway?" Uh....

"Actually, I have no idea," I replied, "Scorpio didn't mention anything abut _how_ we were gonna save space and time...."

"I'm sure she has something planned for us. She wouldn't leave us here with no resource, would she?" Aquarius asked

"Again, I have no idea. I just found out about all of this fifteen minutes ago..." I said

"Whatever," Aquarius said, "Let's go get Virgo. We should probably find everyone as soon as possible. Time is usually of essence in these sort of things,"

"True," I said, "Let's go!" SO we walked through a labyrinth of corridors to go and find Virgo.


	2. Virgo and Cancer

hey everyone. sorry I didn't put an authors note on the last chapter. this story is COMPLETELY my own, with side ownership of my friend who shall remain anonymous. we'll just call her littleporcupine (yes you should know who you are) R&R!!!

Normal POV:

Aquarius led Aries through many corridors to find Virgo. They found him in the kitchen getting food for Aquarius' father.

"Hey Virgo," Aquarius said while getting apples for her and Aries. Virgo was a young man, at age seventeen. He had brown hair and wore the clothes of a servant.

"I've told you a million times," Virgo said, "Stop calling me by my given name. I have to be called Victor here. Your mother hates my given name. It makes her think I'm possessed by a demon or something,"

"Yet they named me Aquarius," she said

"That," Virgo said, "Was your father. I remember that, even though I was only four," he said, clearly lost in his memories, "So," he said, coming back to reality, "Who is this?"

"Uh, I'm Aries," Aries said

"And she has some news for you," Aquarius said encouraging Aries

"Well," Aries began, looking up at the seventeen-year-old, "I can't really explain it, but read this. It'll tell you everything," Aries handed Virgo the letter. He read it, having the same reaction as Aquarius. He looked at Aquarius, she nodded.

"He wants to see you use the fire sword," she said. Aries took out her fire sword and released the flame from the handle. Virgo stood in awe.

"So--we really are going to save space and time?" Virgo asked. Aries and Aquarius nodded, "But what about here? I'm needed here to help your mother and father, Aquarius,"

"Time stops in your time period when you leave it," Aries said, "no one here will know that you left," Virgo still seemed hesitant

"Come. Let's go to my room. We can talk about this," Aquarius said

"But--but tonight is your feast night. We can't leave!" Virgo said

"Do you _ever_ listen?" Aquarius asked, "Time here will stop. S-T-O-P. When we get back it will be as if we had never left," she was clearly ticked at Virgo. Aquarius grabbed Virgo's arm and dragged him to her room with Aries following close behind. When they got to Aquarius' room, they were about to start talking but a dark-haired messenger interrupted them. He carried a letter addressed to Aries and Aquarius. It read:

_Aries and Aquarius,_

_I can see that you have met each other and have gotten Virgo. You still need to find eight more. Your next travel will bring you to Cancer. I will contact you again when you are ready to find the next protector. And, Virgo, you have a power as well as the girls. You can read minds if you wish to. That is why you could always know what your masters or mistresses wanted._

_Good Luck! And happy traveling!_

_Scorpio_

"Let's go," Aries said

"But how do we go--aaaaaahhh!!!!" Aries had grabbed the clock while Virgo was talking and they sped off.

The three teenagers landed in an alley, in what looked to be a city. Aries motioned for them to walk to the main street. Her clothes felt weird. She looked down to see that she was in jeans again. _Finally! _She thought. She was also wearing a futuristic-looking hoodie. She turned to Aquarius and Virgo. They had changed clothes too.

Aquarius wore her hair down now, with two small pigtails popping out of her head. She also wore white capris and a white peasant blouse. Virgo wore jeans and a sweatshirt similar to Aries'. Aries reached in her sweatshirt pocket, there was a note. _Did I mention that your clothes would change as the time period does? -Scorpio._

"I--I'm in pants!" Aquarius said in a hushed yell that made Aries snap her head up from the note

"Welcome to the future," Aries replied. She grabbed her two companions' hands and dragged them into the open street. They walked around for a few block, taking their surroundings in. They were in a majorly futuristic city surrounded by advanced skyscrapers and hoverboards and hovercars. Aries spotted a guy her age. She went up to him.

"Hey, do you know a girl named Cancer?" Aries asked. The dark-haired boy responded

"Yeah, I do. What's it to ya?" he asked

"We need to see her. It's of the utmost importance," Aries responded

"What makes you think I will--" Aries handed him a five-dollar bill, "She's over there, in the skate park. She's the one with the pink streak in her hair," The three companions left the group of teenagers and headed towards what looked to be the skate park. They opened the gate and stepped inside.

"Watch out!" The three turned and dove out of the way of the girl flying towards them. They looked to see who it was. The girl emerging from the chaos she had caused had cargo pants, a blue long-sleeved shirt, and skater shoes. She had on elbow and kneepads, and a helmet covering her jet-black hair in a ponytail. In her hair was a hot pink streak. Her hoverboard was floating next to her.

"Whoa! Sorry, there," the girl said, "Hi, I'm Cancer," Aquarius replied

"Hello. My name is Aquarius and this is Aries and Virgo," we waved at the mention of out names, "And Aries has something to tell you--er-- rather show you, Aries," Aries came up and showed Cancer the note. She read it, but seemed unfazed,

"You expect me to believe this crap? This is totally fake!" Cancer said, clearly skeptical.

"Oh, really?" Aquarius said. Aries grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alley, totally out of sight of anyone else in the city,

"Wha--What are you doing?" she asked,

"Proving it," Aries said coolly. She pulled out her fire sword and created her ribbon of flame, and Aquarius created more icicles and they floated around her. Cancer was speechless.

"I--I thought this only happened in movies, and books and stuff..."

"This is for real," Aquarius, said, handing Cancer an icicle, "Hold this if you still don't believe us," Cancer took the icicle in her hands. It was freezing cold, and wet. Aries brought her fire sword near the icicle. Cancer felt the heat and saw the icicle melt in her own hands.

"Okay," Cancer said, "You've got my attention," Aries handed her the first note from Scorpio again, and Cancer read it this time in full belief. After she was finished reading, she nodded, and they went back out into the open. All of a sudden, a wadded up piece of paper flew at the back of Aries' head. She turned around to try and find the person who threw it, but she had no such luck. She picked up the wadded paper and flattened it out so she could read what was written on the inside.

_Aries, Aquarius, an Virgo,_

_Congratulations on finding Cancer. Your journey does not end here. You still must find seven more protectors _**(A/N that's what I decided to call them)**. _Cancer, you have a special ability as your new companions do. Aries can bring to life the fire sword, Aquarius can control water, Virgo can read minds, and you can control objects with your mind. That is why you are such a good hoverboarder, most of the time. Your next journey will bring you to Capricorn._

_Good Luck! And happy traveling!_

_Scorpio_

"We should go now," Virgo said. Aries nodded. She motioned for all of them to link arms. They were sent flying throughout time as Aries held the magical clock.

Hoorah! I hope u ppl like this story. pleez R&R!!!!!

!razberrie 4eva!


	3. Capricorn and Libra

I started working on my icarly story at first, but then I got writers block.....it sux. so anywayz, I got an idea for this story so im writing it down!! R&R peoplez!! and just to let y'all know, Scorpio is a GUY!

Normal POV:

Aries, Aquarius, Virgo, and Cancer were sucked through the time portal to Salem, Massachusetts during the times of the witch trials. Aries opened her eyes to the new world around them. She looked down at her clothes. _Another dress, perfect. _She wore the traditional dress for a colonial American during the 1800s. **(A/N I have no idea when the witch trials really happened, and this is my assumption) **She looked at her companions. Aquarius and Cancer had on the virtually same thing as Aries, and Virgo wore the traditional clothes for a man in Salem at that time.

"I'm in a dress!" Cancer yelled in a whisper

"Yeah, I hate it too," Aries, replied, "But our clothes change as travel through time, speaking of which..." Aries then started to search in her pockets for a note from Scorpio. She found one in the small purse she was carrying.

"Did you find another note?" Aquarius asked. Aries nodded her head, and then showed it to the group so they could read it.

_I warn you not to use your powers here. These people are very skittish and will burn you at the stake at the first sign of witchcraft. You must inform Capricorn that she must never return to her home unless she wants to die. She will either live in the ultimate time realm with my family, and myself. Or, if she were to find another time period to her liking, she could stay there as well. It is her choice. -Scorpio_

The group looked at each other with worried eyes, but Aries motioned them on. They stepped into the busy street of Salem.

"Today must be Thanksgiving here too," Cancer said, "Excuse me sir," Cancer asked a man walking by, "We are looking for a someone named Capricorn, do you know her?" he answered;

"Yes," he took his hat off to reveal pitch-black hair and pointed with it, "That's her, over there, by the barn,"

"Thank you, sir!" Cancer said walking back towards her three friends, "She's over there, in the pen with the sheep," Aries gave her a puzzled look, Virgo explained for Cancer

"She works there to get money to help pay her rent. She's an orphan. Her parents died a few years ago, when she was your age. She is sixteen now, she has no one here that she would be leaving behind," Cancer looked at him like he was crazy. He tapped his head and smirked

"He can read minds," Aquarius confirmed

"Ah," Cancer said

"C'mon guys!" Aries said, "We have to get Capricorn to come with us," with that she grabbed Cancer and Aquarius' arms who promptly took Virgo's arm as Aries dragged them in Capricorn's direction. She was indeed sixteen, and very pretty. Virgo was immediately smitten, "Not now Virgo," Aries said, recognizing that love-struck look, "We have more important things to worry about know, like getting her to come with us,"

"I'll do it," Virgo offered

"No way, Jose," Cancer said, "Let us handle this, you're too love-struck to do anything right now," So Cancer, Aquarius, and Aries started walking towards Capricorn.

_Virgo, pretend like you are resting from a long journey so as not to arouse suspicion. That should be your answer if anyone asks you about why you are there._ Aries thought to get a message to Virgo. She looked behind herself towards Virgo; he nodded and sat down on a nearby bale of hay.

"Excuse me," Aquarius said in her most polite tone of voice, "But are you Capricorn?" the blonde-haired girl looked up

"Yes, I am. Why do you want to know?" Capricorn asked the three girls

"Well," Aries began, "You are one of the twelve protectors, as are we. We must work together to save space and time, or something like that.... just read this note," she handed Capricorn the original note from Scorpio, but stopped her before she read it, "Do you believe in witches and magic?" Aries asked a very confused Capricorn,

"Of course I do! I just don't believe in this whole all-witches-are-bad hype. Why do you ask?" Capricorn asked

"Just read the letter," Cancer said, "It will explain everything," so Capricorn read the letter, and luckily was not afraid

"Oh, wow! Me! Us! Are there any others here?" Capricorn asked the three girls,

"I'll be right back," Cancer said, and ran to get Virgo. She brought him to Capricorn, but not before warning him to act cool, and not act like an idiot. She told him to not say anything unless spoken to, and he agreed for the sake of his ego. Then Cancer and Virgo walked up to the girls

"This is Virgo," Aries said, "He is one of us, he can read minds as I can control fire and the fire sword, Aquarius can control water, and Cancer can perform telekinesis. I don't know what your power is, but I'm sure Scorpio will tell us soon enough," As if on cue, a messenger brought Capricorn a letter. It read:

_Aries, Aquarius, Virgo, and Cancer,_

_Congratulations on finding Capricorn! You still have seven more protectors to find. Capricorn, you have a power as well as your companions. You can control the weather if you please. But be forewarned, if your emotions should get too out of hand, the weather could result. And just a note to you all, there will be a note from me at the end of this letter; only Virgo should read it at this time. If he should want to tell you all what information its content contain, he is free to share it with you. Your next journey will bring you to Libra._

_Good Luck! And happy traveling!_

_Scorpio_

Aries handed Virgo the letter so he could read the after note.

_P.S. Virgo,_

_You are the first to have feelings for another protector. This is natural for all of the protectors except for my sister, Sagittarius and myself. Each protector will fall in love with another protector. You have fallen for Capricorn, and she will soon fall for you. As you meet more protectors, the pairings will become obvious. And for only one pair, you will not be able to see it, but it indeed will come._

_Scorpio_

Virgo gave a heavy sigh; he folded over the part about himself falling in love, but let the others read the rest.

"But, we're only thirteen! How can we fall in love this early?" Cancer said with a groan,

"I was going to be married before Aries came and got me," Aquarius said. Cancer was astonished. She looked at Virgo,

"It's true," he said, "I was supposed to be in charge of planning it," Aries interrupted them,

"I don't mean to interrupt your fascinating conversation, but don't we have something more important to do?" Aries said with a smirk. She spun the clock around on her finger. Cancer rolled her eyes and linked arms with Aries, Aquarius linked her arm with Cancer's, Virgo linked his arm with Aquarius', and Capricorn held on to Virgo's arm, which made Virgo blush as red as a beet.

"Close your eyes and hold on tight," Aries said as she gripped the clock in both hands, and before they knew it they were in the time vortex heading towards ancient China.

When they opened their eyes, they were in peasant clothing of the ancient Chinese era, with the traditional conical hats on their heads. They looked around at all the people working in the rice patties, but none of them looked young enough to be a protector. Then Aquarius looked towards the stables where they held the livestock, and noticed a girl, maybe a year older than them, tending to the cows. Aquarius tugged on Aries' shirt and pointed towards the girl. She nodded and motioned for them to follow her towards the girl.

"That's got to be Libra," Virgo said in a whisper, "All she can think about is the strange power she has that can make the livestock to whatever she wants,"

"How do you know that?" Capricorn whispered in disbelief,

"I can read minds," Virgo said, tapping his temple, "And she speaks English, so that is good,"

"C'mon then!" Cancer said, "Let's go talk to her!"

"Wait," Aries said, "Can she read English?"

"Uh," Virgo said, "I believe so, yes."

"Good, so she can read the letter," Aries said. With that, the five teenagers made their way towards Libra. She shot her head up when she heard the people approaching her. She muttered something incoherent in Chinese before standing up to face them.

"Who are you?" she asked with no expression, Aries answered

"I'm Aries, and this is Aquarius, Capricorn, Virgo, and Cancer. We have been sent to get you for an important mission," Libra still looked suspicious, "One that will explain the weird power you have," Aries said in a whisper. Libra's eyes widened, then she nodded. She seemed on board with anything that would explain the weird phenomenon.

"Please explain it to me," she said, her voice shaking slightly,

"I cannot explain why you have the powers that you do, but I can explain the mission to you," Aries handed Libra the first letter from Scorpio. Libra took it hesitantly, and read it. Her eyes clearly showed the fear that she felt inside. She looked up when she finished reading, and nodded, signaling her agreement.

"But first I must finish tending to the animals," she said

"Of course," Capricorn replied, "I know how that is," she smiled at Libra, which clearly made the shy girl feel better. So Libra walked over to the cows, and began to refill one trough with feed and water in another. She also made sure all of them were correctly marked, and found a folded sheet of paper in the notification of one of her cows. She brought the folded piece of paper to her new companions. Aries took it, and told her it was a note from Scorpio.

"On my cow?" she asked,

"We've found them on beds, delivered formally, and thrown at us," Aries said with a laugh. Libra laughed with her, "Now we can add a new one to the list, 'on cow,'" Aries said, pretending to write it down. Everyone laughed.

"Okay," Cancer said in between giggles, "We really should read what is inside," Aries nodded, still smiling, and opened the letter.

_Aries, Aquarius, Virgo, Cancer, and Capricorn,_

_Congratulations on finding Libra! You still have six more protectors to find. Libra, you have a power as well as the others. Your power is that you can hypnotize anybody or any living thing that you like. You cannot hypnotize flora, however. All of your next journey will bring you to Taurus. And remember, time is of the essence, even if we can control it._

_Good luck! And happy traveling!_

_Scorpio_

"Shall we?" Aquarius asked. All of the teenagers linked arms, and sped away to their next destination.

woo hoo! another chapter down the tube! just to give you people a hint, another character will find their match in the next chapter. I won't tell you which one yet! you'll just have to wait!

!razberrie 4eva!


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